Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP John W. Madonna Sells 1,806 Shares

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of DRI traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $208.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 350,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,278. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The stock has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $193.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.08.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.